Questions in White
by Lucinda
Summary: Draco has some unpleasant thoughts after the events of Chamber of Secrets.
1. Questions in White

Questions in White  
  
Author: Lucinda  
rating: pg/pg 13  
main character: Draco Malfoy  
disclaimer: I do not own any person or situation from the Harry Potter books.  
distribution: please ask first  
Summary: Draco has some hard thoughts after the Basilisk.  
note: set shortly after the fight with the Basilisk at the end of Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets.  
  
  
His father had done something to try to bring back the Dark Lord. Something involving a book and Ginny Weasley, and some sort of ghost or memory of a younger version of Voldemorte. He wasn't clear on all the details, but that was what he'd pieced together from all the whispers and rumors from all the students.  
  
He kept coming back to a few questions about the whole matter that just wouldn't go away. Why had he involved the Weasley girl? What had the book done? What exactly would have happened if his father's plan with the book had worked? Would there have been two Dark Lords? What would the plan have done to the girl?  
  
The more he considered the questions, the less happy Draco felt. Ginny Weasley had been looking rather pale before Potter had saved the day again. She'd also seemed rather skittish, all nervous and jumpy like she was terribly upset about something. She'd looked like something was wrong, something terribly wrong and secret and possibly illegal... it reminded him of the children of some of his parent's associates.  
  
The more he thought about things, the more he was forced to conclude that there had been something physically wrong with the girl. He couldn't think of any other possible cause for it than whatever plan his father had put into motion. So, he had been forced to conclude that his father's plan, a plan that had not been shared with him, would have either severely weakened her or maybe even killed her.  
  
The Weasleys might be poor and have more relatives that any sensible family needed, but they were pure blood wizards. So, his father's plan had endangered a pure blood wizard, possibly even considered her as expendable. How did killing a pure blood witch help the wizarding community? He could understand his father's argument that muggles or muggle born wizards were a threat to the history and traditions of the wizarding world, but... How would killing a pure blood help anything?  
  
As near as he could figure, his father's plan would have resulted in a second version of the Dark Lord, a younger version that hadn't been weakened. There would have been two Voldemortes, and he didn't think that the younger would have been content as a follower of the older original Dark Lord. He could only assume that it would have caused a power struggle, one resulting in pain, death and probably destruction.  
  
Draco Malfoy couldn't see an advantage in that. He couldn't see anything other than chaos and trouble resulting from a second Voldemorte. Something that would most likely end up tearing the pure blood wizard families apart.  
  
But why Ginny Weasley? Why had she been involved in this? She wouldn't have ever agreed to work with his father, especially not if it was supposed to help Voldemorte. So, his father had somehow used her, somehow fooled her into actions that helped him.  
  
He'd already known that his father was devious, and willing to use underhanded and shady methods to reach his goals, but... This just didn't sit right with him. It felt wrong, and unbalanced. It didn't sit right with his ethics, narrow range that that covered, and it didn't sit right with the ethics that his father had claimed to have. He didn't like the thought that his father had even less ethics than he'd professed to hold.  
  
If his father was willing to sacrifice Ginny Weasley to raise a second Dark Lord, who else would he sacrifice? What would he sacrifice to strengthen Voldemorte? Trained wizards? Wizard children? His own child?  
  
He shivered as the thought slithered through his mind. Would his father sacrifice him to further his ambition? To gain power and influence? Everything that had been happening recently pointed towards 'Yes'.  
  
If he couldn't count on his own family being predictable, what could he depend on? If his family's behavior wasn't predictable, then nobody's would be. He couldn't predict the behavior of his father's circle either, couldn't predict the less wealthy witches or wizards, not that he'd ever been good at figuring them out. He felt like his world was shifting around him.  
  
It was an uncomfortable feeling. It made his feel nervous, like the world was spinning around him, as if he was caught in a whirlpool. Things that he'd thought were immutable constants were turning out to be insubstantial as clouds.  
  
The whole thing was making his stomach tangle into cold knots. He felt cold, and his skin prickled. Nothing was the same as he'd thought it was. Nothing seemed secure anymore.  
  
And there was nobody that he could possibly ask about this. Who could he talk to, after all? The other Slytherins were at the very least sympathetic to ideas of grabbing power, disapproving of muggle born witches. A lot of them were children of the Dark Lords supporters, and many planned to become his supporters when they were old enough. He certainly couldn't talk to them about discovering that his father had no ethics.  
  
The teachers? That was laughable in itself, the only one who seemed to not disapprove of him was Snape, and he might have been one of Voldemorte's supporters as well.  
  
Nobody... a flash of red caught his eyes. Red hair... Potter and Granger and Weasley walked by. Weasley... maybe he could talk to the Weasley girl, find out what had happened?  
  
Except that she wouldn't have anything to do with a Slytherin in general, much less him in specific.   
  
He had too many uncomfortable questions. And the answers that he had didn't help at all.  
  
end Questions in White. 


	2. Answers in Red

Answers in Red  
Author: Lucinda  
rating: pg/pg 13  
sequel to Questions in White  
main characters: Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley  
disclaimer: I do not own any person or situation from the Harry Potter books.  
distribution: please ask first  
Summary: Draco tries to get some answers from Ginny concerning his questions.  
note: set shortly after the fight with the Basilisk at the end of Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets.  
  
  
  
Ginny Weasley shivered, feeling eyes on her again. Somebody was staring at her, and she had a suspicion who it would be. Draco Malfoy. He'd been acting funny ever since the whole mess of rumors and partial truths about that horrible diary and his father had come out. Rumors that there had been some spell involving her that was supposed to bring back You-Know-Who.  
  
Glancing up, she saw him, leaning against a wall. His posture screamed arrogance and confidence, as if he owned the school instead of being just a second year student. Just the only son and heir of one of the most wealthy and influential wizarding families in England. Just the son of one of the former Death Eaters that her father suspected wasn't so former. He was watching her, his grey eyes looking different, almost fever bright. He had a slight frown, and looked as if he was trying to puzzle out some disturbing problem.  
  
Something seemed to break inside of her, like a thread pulled just a little to far. She had to know why he was staring like that. It wasn't the old condescending arrogance. It was something else, something that she didn't understand. Scowling in her most serious and intimidating way, which really wasn't that impressive, she stomped over to him, her greenish eyes cracking. "Why do you keep staring at me?"  
  
He shook his head slightly and his hair fell a bit, almost touching his eyebrow. It wasn't it's normal carefully slicked back shell, and it looked almost soft. "I've just... been thinking about things. Coming up with questions."  
  
Something fluttered inside her, a bouncing erratic companion to the cold fear that filled her anytime something made her think of that whole nightmarish experience. Of the time lost, the horror of waking up with blood on her hands and not knowing what it had come from or how it had gotten there. Of the discovery that her confident had been the echo of the most evil wizard of the modern era. The sense of helplessness and dread as she'd found herself walking into the tunnels under the school, her horror at seeing the sleeping basilisk before Tom had emerged, stealing more of her life, leaving her unconscious and helpless, slowly to die under Hogwarts. She knew that she was shivering.  
  
"Wh... What questions?" She hated the way her voice shook.  
  
Draco shook his head, as if trying to clear or shuffle his thoughts. "First, I want you to know that however much I can't stand most of your family, I didn't have anything to do with this."  
  
Ginny frowned, one hand tracing over the end of her braid. She didn't know why he seemed to think it was important for her to know he hadn't been involved. Maybe he didn't even know. But she... well trusted wasn't the right word, but she believed him about not being involved with this. "Okay... I believe you. What's on your mind? And oh god, I'm actually voluntarily talking to you..."  
  
There was a small flicker, like the shadow of a smile over his face, but it was quickly gone, masked by what almost managed to be a look of indifference. "What was it supposed to have done? Not how, but... I've heard rumors about another Dark Lord, or making him strong again... Was it the spell making you seem all... not well? And why you to begin with?"  
  
Ginny shivered again, feeling cold as his questions brought everything so close to the surface again. "I don't know why me. Maybe it was just... my family isn't as rich as you, another old looking book wouldn't get noticed until... it was too late. It was..." She paused, her arms sliding around her body in a futile attempt to stop the trembling. "It was a trap. It would have brought back... who he used to be. Before. When he was a boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen? And it would have killed me. Taken my life for him to use."  
  
Draco nodded, a shadow entering his eyes. "He... my father would have known that part, wouldn't he? He... you were expendable in his plan."  
  
"yeah." Her voice was a bare whisper.  
  
Draco shifted awkwardly, one hand gingerly patting her elbow. "You'll recover. It didn't kill you, so the exhaustion and weakness will pass. As for the rest... you... your family will make sure you get better. They... care."  
  
For a moment, all she could do was gape at him, only now noticing that his cheekbones looked sharper because his face was more gaunt, as if he'd lost weight. There were tiny wrinkles in the collar of his black silk shirt. "You... thanks, I think."  
  
Draco sort of flushed, as if he'd just realized that he'd offered her even a little bit of comfort. "Well... I guess you're welcome. But if you ever tell anybody about this... I'll deny it. Tell them... something. Besides, who would ever believe that we'd choose to have a civil conversation?"  
  
Maybe he wasn't the cold unfeeling snob that she'd thought. Oh, he was still a snob, still arrogant and self centered, but... Maybe Draco Malfoy did have feelings after all. "Who'd believe me? Why bother trying to tell anyone?"  
  
Ginny left the hallway, feeling oddly comforted as she walked back to the Gryffindor tower. It was good to know that this feeling of cold weakness would fade. And Draco had been right, which was something that she'd never thought she'd hear herself say. Her family cared for her and would help her get past this. Part of her still wondered about Draco. He still looked as if he was grappling with unhappy thoughts. Maybe he had more questions?  
  
end Answers in Red. 


End file.
